About Kim

I started Money and Risk because I want to help small business owners and especially women with navigating business and financial obstacles. In creating this, I found that I was following in my parents’ footsteps.

My parents started the first magazine for Vietnamese women in the United States.  They funded it without advertising and had readership in the hundreds of thousands across the country.

We came to America as political refugees.   With hard work, my parents built a freight company and eventually sold it to retire.  I started working in the family business at age eleven.

“I have a dream to fund a foundation and start a school for homeless children.  How many undiscovered Einsteins, Socrates, Picassos and Ada Byrons have we lost because they never had a chance.”

I have been an advocate of small businesses for my entire career.   My first job was as a liaison between business owners and the State of California Employment Development Department.  After a few years with the government, I joined the business world and have spent my time since then helping companies manage their finances and investments, get capital to grow their business and survive the morass of regulations that drags down a small business.

From my grandparents and parents, I learned the importance of giving back to the community.  My grandfather owned multiple businesses and personally funded a food bank to support the needs of his home counties.  I was put on the line to pass out food as soon as I was old enough to pick up a box of daily supplies; even though I had no clue of what I was doing.

After we immigrated to the United States, my parents took me every week with them to deliver Meals on Wheels to seniors in our town.

They also spent part of the profits from their business to create and fund community programs that celebrated and nurtured the arts.  They did this without fail in good times and bad.

My dad told me that it was necessary for us to help because the artists are most needed during difficult times and they are the ones most at risk.

“When people are struggling to feed and care for their family, it’s hard to think beyond the daily grind.  We need the arts to bring joy, laughter and inspiration to our lives; so we need to make sacrifices and support the artists financially until the community can.”

I’m a child of two worlds:  the immigrant culture that clings to old fashioned values and the modern, fast-paced, technology savvy American culture.  I want to provide a bridge to share the best ideas so that our women and minority-owned small businesses can become even more successful.

I want to help people feel comfortable enough to take risks and embrace failures.  It’s the only way that you can achieve great success.   My favorite quote is from Confucius:

“If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it’s OK.  But you’ve got to shoot for something.  A lot of people don’t even shoot.”

I currently run an advisory business that helps business owners with retirement planning.  We specialize in managing retirement plans such as 401Ks, pensions and IRAs.  We partner with our clients to plan their estate and tax strategies.  Our mission is to transform lives through education.

I am also a part owner in an insurance brokerage company and a business consulting firm.  The consulting firm specializes in internet marketing and ecommerce – selling products and services through the internet.  In the past 11 years, the firm has served clients from mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies such as Toshiba and Honda.

As a small business owner, I deal with the same struggles as everyone.  On top of it, I’m a woman and that comes with its own baggage.  I have to juggle the demands of both business and family.

I am a S’more – squished between parents, kids and the business.

 

Kim Luu’s Bio:

 

Kim Luu was a Vice President at one of the largest banks in the United States.  She set up the commercial lending division for a regional bank.  During her time in banking, Kim approved almost $2 Billion in loans to hundreds of small businesses.

Kim is a dedicated supporter of the community.  Her passions are seniors, children and education.  She worked on the board of both nonprofit and private for profit companies.  She has served with or provided financial support to the following:  Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, Ivy League Association of Southern California, National Association of Business Owners and a host of other organizations.

She is currently on the board of one of the largest Meals on Wheels organizations in the state of California.  The nonprofit provides services to seniors in 21 Orange County cities, covers 400 square miles and delivers almost half a million meals a year to home bound seniors.  Kim has also served for years on a community business development company that provides SBA and government loan support to small business owners.

She has written for the New York Times and is requested as a writer by business publications. She has lectured at the UCLA Anderson School of Business.  She led private financial seminars to executives and business owners on behalf of companies like Alcatel.  She taught financial literacy classes to foster kids through organizations like the Orangewood Foundation.